Warriors in Crisis as Pasuwa Throws-in The Towel Over Unpaid Salary

Negotiations are continuing for Calisto Pasuwa to stay on as national soccer team coach after he threw in the towel Thursday complaining bitterly about Zimbabwe Football Association’s failure to pay his outstanding salary and allowances, now amounting to thousands of dollars.

Pasuwa’s manager Gibson Mahachi told VOA that negotiations with the Sport and Recreation Commission are continuing with chances that Pasuwa may stay as Warriors coach should the SRC guarantee his salary.

Mahachi was hoping a deal would have been clinched by end of day Friday, enabling the coach to travel with the Warriors to the Comoros for the return leg of the Africa Nations Championship.

Pasuwa did not report for duty Friday and the team did not train due to the ongoing problems crippling the Zimbabwe Football Association.

The coach walked out after ZIFA failed to pay his dues as promised by June 30.
The Warriors trip to the Comoros for that Africa Nations Championship encounter is hanging by a thread as frantic efforts are still being made to ensure that they leave this evening.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa was said to be in a meeting with the Sport and Recreation Commission and the Zimbabwe Football Association to see how best they can resolve the crisis late Friday.

Sources revealed that the meeting was centred on two possibilities; one of which was to convince Air Zimbabwe to ferry the players to the Comoros with the funds being paid later.

The other was for the Zimbabwe Football Association to convince the authorities in the Comoros to move the match to Sunday.

If everything goes well, the Warriors should leave by a chartered plane Friday evening around 9pm having had the worst of preparations prior to the game.

Pasuwa has also been complaining this week about the non-availability of his top players through the club versus country politics while others have gone for trials in foreign lands.

There was no immediate comment from ZIFA president Curthbert Dube and other senior officials as they were said to be busy attending to the Warriors crisis.

Goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva has not been released by Dynamos while Walter Musona staying with FC Platinum as striker Evans Rusike is in South Africa for trials at Maritzburg United.

Midfielder Wisdom Mutasa is on trials in Slovakia.

The Warriors need only a draw or a 1-0 loss against the African football lightweights to sail through to the next round.

Dynamos midfielder Ronald Chitiyo says the Warriors, should they travel, must go into attack as they did in the first leg in which they won 2-0 at Rufaro Stadium two weeks ago.

Chitiyo, who played in the first game but is missing the second leg due to club commitments, says this is a new game altogether, and for that matter away from home.

The African Nations Championships are not on the Fifa calendar and as a result clubs are not obliged to release their players for the competition.

While the Warriors are heading for the Comoros, the same cannot be said of the Sables who have home advantage against Tunisia in their second game of their Africa Cup crusade.

The Zimbabweans overcame Kenya 28-20 in the first leg and are hoping for another win to maintain their momentum ahead of the clash against neighbors Namibia.

Namibia are Zimbabwe’s strongest challengers for the Africa Cup, and have overtaken Zimbabwe as the second top rugby playing nation in Africa after South Africa.